Day 3 – 22/05/2008; Time to Reflect

Because of the continuing Internet limitations, photos from the last three days of the Encontro will not be uploaded until Sunday or Monday.

In the afternoon, we visited the seminary where the Indians are being housed during the conference. Tribes which traditionally were at war with each other were huddled together in deep discussion, preparing a joint declaration. Where twenty years ago they were armed with war clubs and machetes, today they wield pens and paper, video cameras and voice recorders.

Speaking in Portuguese so that all the tribes could understand, several of the younger leaders made impassioned yet articulate presentations, demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of the economics and politics surrounding the subject. Professor Oswaldo Sevá explained the implications of the construction of dams in greater detail to a silent audience. At the end of his presentation he was regaled with probing questions before being being awarded a Kayapo feather decoration, indicating his acceptance as an honorary member of the tribe.

As the discussions proceeded, I had time to reflect on some of the things said during the three days. I realised that, whatever the economic or political pressures driving the Belo Monte project, to move forward with it would be both politically and economically perilous.

“If the government of President Lula tries to start building Belo Monte, we Kayapo will join together and go to war,” said one chief.

And he means it. If the bulldozers move in, our television screens will be filled with images of Brazilian police firing gas canisters and bullets at angry rows of black-painted Indians. When the first Indian dies, there will be a huge international outcry at the heavy-handedness of the Brazilian authorities, and revulsion from the people of Brazil.

Later, the chiefs of all the tribes had an audience with the Federal judge who is hearing a case which has paralysed the environmental assessment. In a deposition, they made absolutely clear their opposition to the dams, stating that they would under no circumstances agree to the construction of any dam on the Xingu, citing the irrelevance of monetary compensation for the destruction of their culture and lifestyles.

The rights of Indians are enshrined in the Brazilian constitution of 1988, which says, “Indians shall have their social organization, customs, languages. creeds and traditions recognized, as well as their original rights to the lands they traditionally occupy, it being incumbent upon the Union to demarcate them, protect and ensure respect for all of their property.” It is up to the people and the government of Brazil to uphold their constitution, and hold all of the Indians of the Xingu, their cultures, their ways of life and their lands, inviolate.

The gallery of pictures for day 3:

http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/scp/gallery-show/G0000I9QZ8dN3oRg/

© Patrick Cunningham

Day 3 – 22/05/2008; Hydroelectric Dams on the Headwaters

I’m uploading this on Saturday, after the closing of the event, because the internet connection has been interruped throughout the last three days of the event, preventing us from uploading images or text.

After yesterday’s dramatic climax, this morning has been much calmer, but no less significant. Yesterday focussed on the massive Belo Monte project; today’s discussion related to the smaller but arguably no less destructive proposals to build dams on the headwaters.

Six dams are planned for the five major headwaters of the Xingu. One of these, Paranatinga II, is under construction and nearing completion. It has been the cause of stormy confrontations between the Indians of the Xingu Indigenous Park, especially the Ikpeng, and employees of the construction company.

Although these schemes are intended to produce electricity to feed local demand only, and will create quite small reservoirs, they affect the ecosystem of the whole length of the Xingu.

Many fish species migrate during their lifetimes, returning to spawning grounds in the headwaters to lay their eggs but living most of their lives further downstream. These fish are the principal protein source for the Indians of the Xingu Indigenous Park, who are amongst the most traditional in their lifestyles. They hunt very little, and anyway they report that hunting has been less and less successful as their reserves are rapidly becoming isolated islands in the sea of soya which surrounds them.

Fish stocks are already under pressure because of alterations to the riverine ecology resulting from land use changes. Unlike the natural cerrados forests which used to occupy the headwaters, the soya fields do not provide a steady, balanced drip feed of nutrients into the river.

Instead, the increasingly intense rains wash quantities of agrochemicals into the rivers which enter the Park. Some are straightforward toxins, killing fish and microfauna. Others are artificial fertilisers which favour specific plant species, causing changes in the food supply chain and destabilising the whole ecosystem.

In addition to this, the soil of the soya fields has nothing to bind it and washes down into the river, turning the once-clear water into a muddy soup, making it impossible for the Indians to fish using traditional methods such as bows and arrows.

The hydroelectric companies propose to include ‘fish ladders’ to allow the fish to continue their annual migration, but ecologists say that the plan is ill-conceived and will be ineffective. Only a tiny proportion of the fish will be able to make the journey; many will die in the hot pools which will form the ladder; others simply are unable to negotiate the journey.

Any young fish which do hatch in the headwaters face an even greater problem in finding their way downstream. There is no way to direct them away from the turbine intakes, and they will become minced fish-meal as they pass through the turbines.

The gallery of pictures for day 3:

http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/scp/gallery-show/G0000I9QZ8dN3oRg/

© Patrick Cunningham

Encontro Xingu Day 2 – 21/05/2008

Indians continued to arrive throughout the day. There are now over 600 people from 35 ethnic groups, including old friends from the Xingu Indigenous Park.

The morning saw a review of the 1989 gathering, and an emotional speech from Marcelo Kamaiura, who talked about proposals for six so-called ‘small’ dams on the headwaters of the river in Mato Grosso State. His impassioned call for unity of all the people, Indian and non-Indian alike, the length of the river, drew huge applause. Riverside dwellers and small-scale family farmers reinforced this call.

The afternoon began with the arrival of a few new communities, each of which made a stirring entry, singing and dancing their way into the hall. Professor Oswaldo Sevá, who lectures in engineering at Campinas University and has a long and detailed understanding about the history of the several previous attempts to dam the Xingu explained the extent of flooding local people could expect. He highlighted many shortcomings, from the engineering, economic, social and environmental perspectives. In plain language he detailed which areas would be flooded and explained the reasons why it is highly likely that Eletrobras will not stop at a single dam, which on its own would not be viable.

Next it was the turn of the Eletrobras representative, Paulo Fernando Vieira Souto Rezende. He used a bewildering series of charts, lists, statistics and maps in what appeared to be an attempt to confuse everybody in the room. In a haranguing presentation, he seemed intent on talking over the heads of his entire audience.

His approach did not go down well with the Indians, who became increasingly preoccupied as he continued. It went down no better with the small farmers and riverside dwellers, who broke into a fit of spontaneous booing and chanting in opposition to the proposals. The Indians continued to listen in silence until he had finished.

A few minutes later, the Indians suddenly rose up in unison, chanting and dancing across the room. A mixed group of warriors and women, some with babies and small children, approached the table where Rezende was sitting, chanting and brandishing their war clubs and machetes. Rezende was pushed to the floor and the Indians, their anger patent, poked at him with their weapons. His shirt was torn from his back, and he received a deep cut in his upper arm.

The police and security guards failed to respond, and it was left to the bravery of some of the organisers, who put themselves between the Indians and Rezende to protect him, receiving symbolic threats themselves.

The episode was over quickly, and order was rapidly restored.

This was not an attempt to inflict serious harm, and it is much more likely that Rezende’s injury was the result of an unlucky or over-excited jab. The Indians accused the unfortunate Eletrobras representative of lying. They were carrying war clubs and long machetes, and Rezende could easily have suffered far worse. The Indians were trying to make their point and felt they had no other option, feeling powerless in the face of this serious threat to their culture, their way of life and their homes.

Afterwards, Professor Sevá said, “From the point of view of the Indians in this country, they have the right to five hundred times this level of violence because of what they have suffered at the hands of the white man. But it is a pity that it has taken this outbreak of violence to call the attention of the world to the plight of these people.”

Non-Indian organisers of the event were shocked, but pointed out the underlying cause of the violence. Glenn Switkes of International Rivers said, “This is a very regrettable event, but it is a sign of the level of anxiety and serious concern that the indigenous people have, facing the prospect of dams on the Xingu.”

Tomorrow should be a little more peaceful, though discussion of the ‘small’ hydroelectric dams on the headwaters will see the Ikpeng and others whose lives and food sources will be damaged by these schemes put up a heated debate; the Ikpeng have in the past occupied the construction site of Paranatinga II, the first ‘small’ dam, which today is nearing completion, and have taken hostages on more than one occasion.

Today’s pictures:

http://archive.scphotographic.com/c/scp/gallery-show/G0000k2roxpgaD.I

©Patrick Cunningham